Quick addendum.
Don’t get me wrong. I did not post this to get ”anyone” to show up here. I have no expectation of that. I posted it because I have given up hope!
I did want to make a point however, and I think when people who may not have been reading blogs in 2005/06 see these words, they will realize that some of us had expectations of how she would conduct herself when she took office.
Expectations that have not been realized. I believe those expectations are justified. When the Mayor called Mary Jolly a bully for questioning a member of her staff, I felt it was unfair - because at one time, I expected Dona Stebbins would have done the same thing. She used to ask questions.
OK, so,
someone didn’t like my post. Wah. It is probably very uncivil of me to dare to say that. Once again - Wahhh.
Honestly, I took no offense at someone criticizing what I wrote. I did take offense at the implication that my post was in any way negative to David, better known as Grand Tzar of the GreaterFalls Media Empire. And I didn’t really take offense at the way the Mayor responded. It just plain pissed me off. I have carefully not responded to any of the resultant posts. I will only discuss it here, on my blog, that the Mayor used to visit, back when she was not the one being held accountable…
You can call me rude, or uncivil, lacking respect, and anonymous and I will say I have been here for years now. I am not a crack pot, I rarely drop in and leave a lousy comment, and if I do, you know where you can leave your own. I will always discuss an issue if you wish. Aaron and I once had a rather heated discussion about the genetic charicteristics of species of whitefish. (I was right.)
So, with that being said, I am offering to the public some words. They are good words, meaningful words, and there is an election coming up, so I figure someone may want some strong, passionate words that can inspire the citizens to get out there and VOTE! (for them). I tried to put them on Ebay, but they don’t have a category for words.
General feel good soundbites.
It is my belief that our elected officials have forgotten where the true power lies. It is not really theirs - it belongs to all of us, and is only theirs on loan. Government derives its’ power from the consent of the governed.
If I am elected, I will belong to no one but the people of Great Falls. And I will serve them - ALL of them to the best of my ability. (editors note: ALL of them, as long as I know who they are.)
I do think the city has a responsibility to promote events like this, but the City’s responsibility to the taxpayers MUST take precedence. Let’s hope everyone learned to PAY ATTENTION!
by being here tonight, you all honor the democratic process; government derives its power from those who are governed; it’s your power to give, your power to take away; you elect people to represent you, not rule you; earlier, I asked where’s the fiscal responsibility, which is the hallmark of strong government; you will find the answers in the voting booth on November 8th. (typed & posted by david)
I was not a part of the Commission at that time, and it was not MY promise to keep, but a promise is a promise, and I believe in keeping my word, even if it is an “inherited” word. Thus my decision. (editors note: I absolutely support this decision)
On alternative media.
I believe that the weblogs have played a part in this election, and will continue to grow as an influential part of public participation. (editors note: but don’t read them, those people are mean.)
I will continue to post on various blogs - I enjoy the “alternative” print media here and the informed give and take I have found. (editors note: see above.)
To those who supported my candidacy, thank you all. I will do my best to represent you fairly. You know that I will listen and answer your questions. (editors note: as long as I know who you are.)
Here are some more, just because.
David, my question to Mayor Gray was never answered to my saisfaction. The second part if you recall was,”What will you do if the Northwestern deal falls through?” He failed to address that at all. We are already into it for over $100,000, with another $100,000 pending for the “Guarantee” to NW.
That’s a lot of money already! (editors note: yep, now start adding a 0. that’s really a lot of money!)
When an enterprise fund from the Water Department is set aside for IT in the amount of $1500, and only $900 of it is used for IT services, where does the rest of the money go? It should go back to the point of origin, right? Well, it goes into the General Fund instead, where it is used to fund other services.
Just one example of the fiscal slack that needs to be taken up…I could go on, and will, but I’m out of time for this morning. (editors note: how much fiscal slack is left now?)
$100,000 here, and $100,000 there - and pretty soon they have frittered away $535,000 (that they admit to)on a failed event… (editors note: fritter away millions on a failing event? that could never happen!)
I made the comment in the context of Mr. Lawton’s extreme focus on the energy deals to the neglect of basic housekeeping issues within the city. (editors note: ahh, yes.)
So what the hell changed? Why are Geeguys multiple offers to create a civil, respectful forum, with moderated comments if needed, simply ignored?
Where is the fiscal responsibility?
Where is the focus on basic housekeeping issues?
Where is the responsibility to all the taxpayers?
Where is the respect for a intelligent, informed public, which wishes to participate? A public that takes time to research issues, and has actual knowledge of what they discuss?
These are my words. They are no weaker for you not knowing my name. My vote is still counted, even though my name is not on the ballot. My taxes still pay for police and fire, and they don’t need my name to answer a call.
These are my words. Own your own.
Our Honorable Mayor
Responses to subjects on ECW
FOAI requests? Nothing.
Coal Plant? Nothing.
City Finances? Nothing.
Withholding Water Rights Documentation? Nope.
Truce? Nada.
So if the Mayor does not wish to discuss with us issues of great community interest, things that the citizens actually want her to chime in on, what will inspire our Mayor to once again participate in the conversations and debates held on these forums?
Do you think the Highwood Generating Station will ever be built?
bramble: “Absolutely. The need for power is louder than the whines of the naysayers. I wonder: Do critics of the plant have electricity in their homes? Hypocrites.”
Hey, look at me, I must be a hypocrite! I do not support Highwood, and I have electricity in my home! Every time I flip the switch, the light comes on! And it will, every time, whether or not Highwood is ever built! And guess what, I pay NW Energy every month for that switch to work, and building Highwood will not change that!
I do not get this crap about how people that use electricity are hypocrites if they do not support Highwood. I would rather be considered a hypocrite by stupid people than be considered stupid by a bunch of people in Billings Mt. who want to build their very own coal plant right next to my City.
Right now, it looks like Great Falls is scoring on both counts.
GeeGuy asks a question.
Was this a legal decision? Or a political one?
First off, I am going to link where I can, but many of the documents I will refer to are several hundred page PDF files.
First off, the question that the Review Board was supposed to answer was, whether the DEQ acted unlawfully in relying on PM 10 as a surrogate in the DEQ BACT determination for PM 2.5. There is no written order, and the update does not address this, simply say the permit is being remanded.
We can, however, glean some insight into what the board thinks from published material.
2/8/08 transcript, p. 17 line 2-6, Mr. Mires speaking: “the issue here is: did they violate the law? And from my limited knowledge of law and understanding, from everything that I have heard and seen, I cannot say that DEQ violated the law.”
p. 25 line 22,23 Chairman Russell: “I think that the Department didn’t do anything illegal.”
p 47 line 9-13 Heidi Kaiser: “Did the DEQ do their job? Did they lawfully do their job during this permitting process? I agree 100 percent with Larry. I believe they did.”
And in fact, Hal Taylor, MEIC expert witness, testified in his deposition that, in relying on EPA’s surrogate approach, the DEQ acted within its authority and that it was not improper for the DEQ to use the surrogate approach.
The simple fact of the matter is that using PM 10 as the surrogate is common practice, recommended by the EPA repeatedly, and reaffirmed by the EPA after the Highwood permit had been issued. The only regulated testing for PM 2.5 is in regards to non attainment areas, and is ambient air testing, not testing of the emissions coming out of the plant.
In reading these documents, the Board and MEIC repeatedly stray far afield of the actual questions at issue, or the actual facts. In the 1/22/08 hearing, trying to prove that there are available, economical options for other types of control measures, Ms. Dillen questions Joseph Lierow of Bison Engineering about a process called wet ESP.
p 178 lines 5-11:
Q. Were you ever concerned that water would be a problem with respect to using wet ESP?
A. Not a problem, but a concern. Water is always a concern in a dry climate.
Q. Isn’t it true that you have negotiated water rights with the City of Great Falls that would give you free access to the Missouri River?
Ms. Dillen/MEIC had to have known that not only does SME not have “free access” to the river, but the City water reservation will barely cover the water SME needs now, and there is little chance of them finding any more.
In DEQ’s reply brief in support of its Motion for Summary Judgement, DEQ’s attorney writes “the Petitioners continue, at length, as they did in their own motion for summary judgement, to confuse the issue of the environmental and health effects of CO2 and PM 2.5 with the real issues raised by the Petitioners’ claims, which are whether the Department acted unlawfully in not conducting a BACT analysis for CO2 and in relying on PM 10 as a surrogate in the Department’s BACT determination for PM 2.5. Petitioners’ Answer Brief, at pages 1-4. There is no dispute in the case regarding the environmental and health effects of CO2 and PM 2.5.”
It should be a simple matter to dig past the discussions of what Eastern Montana will do without this power, and how bad PM 2.5 is and answer the question at issue, which is did the DEQ properly issue this license. If they did not, take it away. If they did, pass new rules that force everyone to live with the same regulations on PM 2.5 (like the Board is doing with mercury) but do not retroactively require testing on a permit that did not require it in the first place.
From the material I can find, it appears that the legal question that is the base of this review was amply answered. Despite what a poster on ECW seems to think, reading two MEIC (Petitioner) documents does not give us an accurate portrayal of the legal issues.
I have no problem with the effort to build Highwood failing. I have no problem with the Board implementing new regulations in regards to PM 2.5, but neither of those things should have been an issue here. This was a legal question of did SME and DEQ comply with the current rules at the time they applied for the permit. They did.
MEIC did not object to the testing for PM 2.5 with PM 10 as a surrogate at any time during the permitting process, and they had ample opportunity, both with the original application and after the draft permit had been issued. Yet the Board has decided retroactively, that is not good enough.
They were asked to make a determination on a legal issue, not an environmental issue. I have a very hard time believing a real court of law would have made the same decision.
Think about it.
In 2004, SME started building trying to build a coal plant, to replace power they were losing in 2008. It takes about 4 years to build this coal plant. It is now, 2008.
In 2004, SME started trying to build a coal plant. It cost $470 million and would sell that power for “about $40 a megawatt-hour”.
It is now 2008, the plant is still going to take 4 years to build, it is anticipated to cost $790 to $800 million. But you know the greatest thing? The power is going to cost “under $55 a megawatt hour”! If the price of the power went up porportionally to the price of the plant, it should cost about under $68.
Regarding my last post, I believe the date SME is supposed to commence operations is December, 2011. Montgomery is looking at June, 2009. I think.
So anyway, we have this dispute, which currently involves four energy projects and NorthWestern Energy, with PPL in there too. We have fairly assured litigation regarding zoning. We have the environmental issues, which already have and may again involve legal disputes of some nature. This will be expensive, and one would assume that the members of SME are going to share the burden of the legal expenses.
The City, despite investing a fair amount of money in project development, apparently has no contract evidencing any actual ownership of what it has been sinking money into. Great Falls now has an electric utility, which continues to lose money, and which cannot sell power to any residents of the city, except the members of the pilot program.
While some remain optimistic that the Highwood project can locate financing, others look at the current financial climate and think that available financing will put the price tag out of reach for competitivly priced power. Add in the price of the legal bills, and perhaps cost based power costs a bit too much in this instance.
Knowing a fair bit about the huge volume of information regarding this whole issue, it doesn’t really surprise me that many people only know the basic, mostly Tribune circulated, information about this project. But I feel an endevor of this magnitude has created a very difficult situation for our City government.
Should our Mayor and Commissioners really be expected to have, or gain, the knowledge they need to effectively represent the City in this project?
My question stems in part from a discussion over at ECW.
just as an example, John Rosenbaum is a contractor. He knows a lot of people, and is informed about many things going on here. In a lot of ways, he is a very good person to have discussing zoning, and where we should put in sewers, and annex areas and things of that nature. He knows about the things that make the City work. However, he does not know how to build a coal plant. Neither do I. Neither does any boardmember of ECP. Why should they?
I find it kind of a shame that these people, who could probably do a fine job of managing basic city functions, are in a position where they are, simply, out of their league. This thing is a runaway train, and it has the potential to harm alot of people that shouldn’t even be involved. I think Mary Jolley can attest, the City Commission has a lot on it’s plate, and being educated and informed about everything they are involved in is a difficult task.
Many of these things are not what I believe our city government should be spending its time and money on, and while I believe Fire and Police may very well need more funding, I personally have no intention of voting for any more of my money to go to the City while there is so much money on the line for projects I do not agree with. We have an extra $1.4 million allegedly sitting in an account as security for our power contracts. There’s a start for the $4.2 million in requests.
So they can go ahead and charge .5o cents to park downtown. That extra quarter will go along way toward paying back the water debt to SME, right?
EL07-102
The interesting things you can find on the internet.
In a Tribune piece about RUS dumping Highwood, these two things are printed.
“Litigation in the Highwood case also was a factor in RUS’s decision, Newby said. “There’s a possibility of additional litigation, too,” Newby said.
“In the letter to SME, RUS also said it was concerned that 40 percent of the capacity of the proposed plant was not under contract through the entire term of the proposed financing agreement.”
Montgomery Great Falls Energy Partners L.P. (Montgomery)is seeking to “leapfrog” over SME’s Highwood project in the generation interconnection queue of NorthWestern.
In a Motion to Intervene and Comments submitted 10/09/07 by SME, it says “Permitting Montgomery Great Falls’ undeveloped project to jump over SME’s viable Highwood Station project in NorthWestern’s generator interconnection queue for connection at the Great Falls substation could result in SME’s project being further removed from further consideration for financing by the RUS. This would effectively prevent SME’s project from being completed” etc.
I wonder if the FERC believes these guys are going to find financing now, without RUS.
A bit later, it notes “Indeed, Montgomery Great Falls’ filing presents the only significant obstacle to completion of SME’s project.”
See above.
SME takes a couple shots at Montgomery, “Despite the attempt of the complaint to cast the Great Falls project as viable, there has been no construction activity at the Montgomery Great Falls project site. The site is an overgrown, fenced enclosure with a few concrete pads remaining from the long-abandoned “Montana Megawatts” project discussed in the complaint.”
Dudes, your site is a wheat field, and I don’t think it is really even yours yet. And everyone knows the zoning is going to get litigated.
SME also mentions that the Montgomery project has not obtained firm contracts for the offtake of power from the proposed facility.
Hmm. I believe in the RUS letter to SME, it was mentioned that RUS was concerned that 40 percent of the capacity of the proposed plant was not under contract through the entire term of the proposed financing agreement.
Interesting how things change. Especially when there is no risk. Oh, and This link should get you to the FERC site, if you are interested.
Water, Water everywhere…
2005
Mr. Gregori stated that they have made progress on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and air quality permits. He added that the plant was a self-contained facility that required water usage. The City was looking to sell 4.6 million gallons of water per day and was working on an application for water intake above the Morony Dam for the coal plant. He added that the total project had financing.
Mr. Schmidt stated that the City had ample water under the existing water rights to run the City and even if the City was to grow there would be enough water to meet the increased demands.
1. The City agrees to sell to Southern the raw water necessary to operate a 250 mW circulating fluidized bed coal fired electric generating plant known as the Highwood Station to be located east of the boundary of the corporate limits of the City. The City agrees to dedicate an instantaneous maximum of 3,200 gallons per minute from the City’s available water rights to provide industrial water to be used in connection with operation of Highwood Station.(Agenda Item 17)
City Manager John Lawton stated that the City has thirteen separate water rights of reservation and the City had not touched majority of the water rights. Currently the City was using twenty percent or less of the total of all reservations.
2008
This is a table of City water rights, amounts, etc. from the January 2008 report by Water Rights Solutions.
It may have been twenty percent in 2005, but in 2008 it is a different story. Additionally, while the city does in fact have 13 water claims, the way they are grouped shows that the amount of water is combined and limited to a specific amount alloted to the grouped claims collectively.
The claim we are using to sell water to SME is the only additional Municipal Claim, all the others are for irrigation.
Mary Jolly is concerned about when and how the City changed water right 41QJ 123410. The most significant part of the change of claim is not that 41QJ 123410 dropped from 53,574 af per year, but that 41QJ 123411 and 41QJ 123408 were incorporated into the total af, actually reducing the three claims collectively from 73,022 af to 20,140 af.
And now, we are trying to buy new water rights. Hmm.
I just have to share this link.
This is for 3rd graders, so they can learn about local government. Check out page 16…
“You have learned why we need local government—to provide services that you either can not, or do not want to provide for yourself.”
Now I know why we are building a coal plant…